The reaction of the Polish leadership to the strikes in August 1980 was to promise reforms, and a scheme of reforms has been presented in the meantime. What would be the most comprehensive attempt yet at transforming the present system, which is geared to the Soviet model, and at launching the...

A commonly held assumption in the transition literature suggests that earlier successes with reforms in Central and East European countries would serve as an asset when the regime changed. Taking Hungary as a case in point, the author revisits the legacies from pre-transition period, calling for...

Macroeconomic imbalances in the eurozone have decreased significantly since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis. In Portugal, the economic adjustment process is strongly being driven by growth in export activity. The recent improvement in price competitiveness has supported the...

The unification of the two German states within a relatively short period of time now appears inevitable. Yet there is no historical precedent for a successful transformation from a socialist to a market economy. Doubts have been voiced by some as to whether such a transformation is possible....